Book Competitions for Primary Schools 2013

Hundreds of eager children came together last week for the national round of the Books Council’s English-language books competition for primary schools in Wales.

Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon was taken over for the day by enthusiastic young readers from all corners of Wales who were competing for a several awards by discussing books they had read and performing short dramatic presentations based on them. This year saw even more schools competing than in previous years – an encouraging and welcome sign.

The books competitions’ national rounds are the culmination of activities that take place all across Wales over several months, with children vying for the honour of representing their counties. On Wednesday 5 June, pupils from 11 primary schools were competing keenly for three different awards.

Narberth Primary School

Narberth Community Primary School, Pembrokeshire, were the overall winners – achieving the highest marks for both discussion and presentation – with Golden Grove Community School, also from Pembrokeshire, coming second. Brynteg Primary School, Carmarthenshire, came third overall, which was an excellent achievement considering that they were competing at the national round for the first time. Narberth Primary also won the best group award for discussing Friends at War by Alan Lambert. Willowbrook Primary School, Cardiff, won the award for the best dramatic presentation with a performance based on Harri Harri and the Cat Club by Liz Haigh.

Willowbrook School

During the day’s activities, the children and teachers also enjoyed an excellent session with award-winning author and storyteller Daniel Morden, the winner of this year’s English-language Tir na n-Og Award. The children were completely enthralled by Daniel’s dramatic and captivating stories, and they were able to interact personally with him during the book signing session. For many children, this interaction with an author gives a surge of enthusiasm that can inspire them to further develop and explore their own reading journeys.

Golden Grove School

Angharad Tomos, Head of the Children’s Books and Reading Promotion Department at the Books Council, said: ‘This competition for primary schools is an excellent opportunity and experience for the children to engage with books and reading in a different way. By analysing, discussing, interpreting and performing what they have read, they are able to use their imagination to bring alive some of the wonderful children’s books we have here in Wales. These events prove that reading for pleasure and entertainment can also help improve children’s literacy skills by honing their oracy and reading skills. It was a great pleasure to see the children brimming with enthusiasm during the national round at Brecon, and our thanks go to the dedicated and hard-working individuals – county organisers, teachers and other supporters – that make these events possible.’

Thanks to the support of several publishers – Dalen, Dref Wen, Gomer, Pont, Carreg Gwalch, Y Lolfa and Rily – every child who took part in the competitions was invited to choose a free book to take home as a memento of the occasion.

The annual books competition is now firmly established in the calendar of many schools throughout Wales. The feedback received from schools testifies to the value of the activity not only within the school, but also as the pupils compete at county and national levels. According to some teachers who have taken part in the competitions, the activity helps to raise oracy standards, and a number of children have come to enjoy reading as a direct result of the competition.

*********************

SUCCESS FOR EAGER YOUNG READERS FROM ALL OVER WALES

Hundreds of eager children from 31 schools came together for two days recently to take part in the national rounds of the Books Council’s Welsh-language Books Competition for primary schools in Wales.

The Arts Centre at Aberystwyth was taken over by enthusiastic young readers from all corners of Wales who were competing for a number of prestigious awards by discussing books and performing short dramatic presentations based on books they had read.

The national rounds are the culmination of activities that take place in all parts of Wales over several months, with children competing for the honour of representing their counties.

The competition for Years 3 and 4 took place on Wednesday, 19 June. Ysgol Melin Gruffydd, Cardiff, were the overall winners with the highest marks for discussion and presentation; Ysgol y Castell, Caerphilly, took second place, and Ysgol Sant Curig, Vale of Glamorgan, came third overall. Ysgol Sant Curig also won the award for the best dramatic presentation with a performance based on Ganthrig Bwt y Wrach by Catherine Aran. Ysgol Pen Barrras, Ruthin, won the award for the best group discussion; their choice of book was Nain! Nain! Nain! by Sian Eirian Rees Davies.

On Thursday 20 June, it was the turn of Years 5 and 6. Ysgol Edern, Gwynedd were the overall winners of the Dr Dewi Davies Award, with Ysgol y Frenni, Pembrokeshire, taking second place. Joint third were Ysgol y Wern, Cardiff, and Ysgol Bryn-y-Môr, Swansea. The Anwen Tydu Memorial Trophy for the best dramatic presentation was won by Ysgol y Frenni, Pembrokeshire, with a performance based on Gwalch y Nen, adapted by Elin Meek. Ysgol Edern, Gwynedd, won the award for the best group discussion; their choice of book was Llygaid Mistar Neb, adapted by Emily Huws.

As part of the activities arranged, children and teachers also enjoyed excellent sessions with author Nicholas Daniels and Aneirin Karadog, the Welsh Children’s Poet Laureate for 2013–2015. For many children, this interaction with an author produces a surge of enthusiasm that can inspire them to further develop and explore their own reading journeys.

Angharad Tomos, Head of the Children’s Books and Reading Promotion Department at the Books Council, said: ‘This competition for primary schools is an excellent opportunity and experience for the children to engage with books and reading in a different way. By analysing, discussing, interpreting and performing what they have read, they are able to make use of their imagination and bring to life some of the wonderful children’s books we have available here in Wales. These events prove that reading for pleasure and entertainment can also help improve children’s literacy by honing their oracy and reading skills. It was a great pleasure to see the children brimming with enthusiasm during the national round at Brecon, and we would like to express our thanks to the dedicated and hard-working people – county organisers, teachers and other supporters – who make these events possible. ’

Thanks to the support of various publishers – Dalen, Dref Wen, Gomer Press, Carreg Gwalch, Y Lolfa and Rily Publications – every child who took part was invited to select a free book to take home as a memento of the occasion.

The books competition is now firmly established in the annual calendar of many schools across Wales. The annual feedback from schools testifies to the value of the activity – not only within individual schools, but also as the pupils compete at county and national levels. According to some teachers, the activity helps to raise standards of oracy, and a number of children have come to enjoy reading as a result of the competition.